Harry Porterfield, DO, FCAP

A titan of vaccine development sees his field’s achievements slip away Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," is watching his field’s achievements slip away.

“In a pair of recent interviews with STAT, Plotkin expressed dismay at seeing the achievements of his career & his field slip away. He knows what lies ahead…
“All I can say is that I’m beginning to regret having lived so long —because we’re going downhill,” Plotkin said” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Rue this day!

On this date in 1801, DC residents were stripped of their right to vote for members of Congress. (From 1790 to 1800, they voted for their prior MD/VA Reps/Senators.)

February 27 should be an antiholiday in DC #DCStatehood

Concerns over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow Is America still a democracy? Scholars tell NPR that after the last year under President Trump, the country has slid closer to autocracy or may already be there.

Is America still a democracy? Scholars tell NPR that after the last year under President Trump, the country has slid closer to autocracy or may already be there.

So you know they have Influenza A, but which subtype? Check out this month's Diagnostic Dilemma to figure it out.
buff.ly/wUIgmkJ

Public safety notice showing four types of alcohol‑free cleansing wipes: ValueAid Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes, Steroplast Sterowipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes, Reliwipe Alcohol-Free Cleansing Wipes, and Microsafe Moist Wipe Alcohol Free. The message states: ‘If you own any of these wipes, we remind you to stop using them.’ A note at the bottom reads: ‘These products should not be used, please check your first aid kits and if you find any dispose of them.

⚠️ Burkholderia found in certain wipes.

Burkholderia are bacteria that rarely cause harm in healthy people but sometimes cause serious infections, particularly for those with certain medical conditions or managing IV lines at home:

https://bit.ly/3Hhq4W4

Cerebrospinal Fluid Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing in Pediatric Central Nervous System Infection: Clinical Experience and Diagnostic Stewardship Strategies

✅ Just Accepted
🔗 https://bit.ly/3MysWjV

You need more cats, or terriers

A drop in CDC health alerts leaves doctors 'flying blind' Doctors and public health officials are concerned about the drop in health alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since President Trump returned for a second term.

Outbreak briefings for clinicians coming soon!
My new project, FOI Clinical (foiclinical.com), is on All Things Considered.
Launching February 11.
www.npr.org/2026/02/06/n...

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is reporting 124 new cases of measles in the state since Tuesday

Influenza -- So Familiar, Still So Mysterious In what feels like the fastest-peaking influenza season in quite some time, I find myself returning to a familiar answer when asked questions about this miserable virus: “We just don’t know.” At least...

One of the most honest answers in medicine remains: “We just don’t know.”

Especially true for the flu -- timing, transmission, vaccines, all still full of surprises.

Five questions, five reflections on why the flu keeps humbling us. #IDsky #Medsky blogs.nejm.org/hiv-id-obser...

Look….. I know I’m an adult so it’s different…… but I feel like this year’s Christmas is the least Christmas-y I’ve ever experienced.

Personally, because of all of the horror we’ve had this year. But also commercially, I feel like even companies are phoning it in or not even acknowledging it.

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported?

NOEM: We haven't deported veterans

MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea

Kidney Recipient Dies After Transplant From Organ Donor Who Had Rabies

A sad sad story and your reminder that rabies can have a very very long incubation period up to over a year.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/06/h...

Waste water surveillance hasn’t picked it up yet, but only a matter of time. cdphe.colorado.gov/dcphr/wastew...

We are going to have a bad time I tell you what

A new southwest Colorado measles case raises concerns about silent spread of the highly contagious virus A measles infection in an unvaccinated child from Montezuma County raises concerns about silent spread of the virus in southwest Colorado.

New measles case in SW Colorado in unvaccinated child with no known exposure, because, of course.

1) people are infectious before the know they have measles
2) measles persists for up to 2 hours in the air space after an infected person leaves.

#vaccinessavelives

coloradosun.com/2025/12/05/m...

50 years after the birth of special education, some fear for its future under Trump The Trump administration has fired, or tried to fire, many of the federal staff who manage and enforce federal disability law in schools.

The Trump administration has fired, or tried to fire, many of the federal staff who manage and enforce federal disability law in schools. n.pr/48udkF5

🎙️ PASCV: Gone Viral salutes our Public Health Heros !

Dr. Nina Gao interviews the 1 and only Dr. Tony Tran, current Director of the State Public Health Laboratory and Deputy Director of the Center for Laboratory Sciences at the CA Dept of Public Health.
buff.ly/dhyYyaO

👻 + 🦟 = NAILED IT!
Most of you nailed it! For our October Diagnostic Dilemma, WNV PCR of CSF was the top pick — and the best diagnostic test for this case.

New month, new mystery coming soon!
www.pascv.org/page/PastCases

#PASCV #DiagnosticDilemma #Virology #WestNileVirus

The Americas, led by Canada, is on the brink of losing measles-elimination status The Americas is the only region of the world to have stopped endemic transmission of measles. But its victory is on the verge of being rolled back.

#PAHO 's regional verification commission for #measles elimination meets this week. The likely outcome: Canada will lose its measles-free status, due to its large & long-running outbreak. If so, the Americas region will also lose elimination status. www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/m...

MEASLES OUTBREAK IN ONTARIO FINALLY DECLARED OVER The last reported measles case in Ontario had rash onset on August 21, 2025. A measles outbreak is declared over when at least 46 days have passed since the rash onset of the last case, accounting for the 7-21 day incubation period, delays in reporting, and potential for undiagnosed cases. This was met on October 6, 2025. However, given Canada has had over 5000 cases of measles in 2025, it means we will likely lose our measles elimination status. Canada achieved measles elimination in 1998. unambiquous SCIENCE

The good, the bad and the ugly on the current measles situation in Canada. Measles outbreak in Ontario finally declared over. New cases are slowing down in all provinces, with only a handful of new cases in Alberta and BC in the last month.

Some of these people have now been fired and rehired TWICE since January. The current state of dysfunction is mind boggling.

In addition to the officials, staff and editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report also received notices of their terminations.

thehill.com/policy/healt...

Following

Two people on opposite coasts tested positive for locally acquired malaria this summer. Rare in the US, these cases raise big questions: What’s behind them, and how are labs detecting malaria? #ThanksPHLabs #publichealth #malaria

Read more: buff.ly/2PqJ4Z4

Johns Hopkins has created a measles outbreak tracker, similar to the one they operated during the initial stages of COVID-19. #TXID #InfectiousDiseases

publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resourc...

@pidsociety.bsky.social @idsainfo.bsky.social @ast-idcop.bsky.social

RFK Jr does not just reject vaccines. He rejects science and must step down | Bernie Sanders Kennedy is unfit to be our nation’s leading public health official because he rejects the fundamental principles of modern science

For generations doctors have understood that germs — like bacteria or viruses — cause infectious diseases.
 
Yet we now have an HHS Secretary casting doubt on the germ theory — the foundation of modern medicine.

That’s not only unacceptable, it is dangerous. RFK Jr. must resign.

Los Angeles child dies of complications from measles virus — NBC News The Los Angeles County health department is urging residents to get the measles vaccine after one child died of complications from the virus. The department said the child got measles as an infant bef...

Please vaccinate your kiddos - herd immunity protects those who cannot be vaccinated 🥺 #IDSky

apple.news/AoZq7LRInSAC...

YouTube video by KFF Health News Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Continue To Decline Under Second Trump Administration

We previously reported that the number of people receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center - known as America's research hospital - declined from February-April.

Since then, I obtained newer data through mid-August. And it's gotten worse. youtube.com/shorts/yT5Vc...